Tilting seat track



4 Sheets-Shea?I l Dec. 4, 1962 T. H. LATlMl-:R ETAL TILTING SEAT TRACKFiled March ll, 1959 Dec- 4, 1962 T. H. LATIMER ETAL 3,066,907

TILTING SEAT TRACK 4 Sheets-.'Shfee?l Filed March ll, 1959 Dec. 4, 1962T. H. LATxMER ETAL. 3,066,907

TILTING SEAT TRACK 4 Sheets-Shea?l 5 Filed March ll, 1959 yn m N s a m2,W

Dec. 4, 1962 T. H. LATIMER ETAL 3,066,907

TILTING SEAT TRACK Filed March l1, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 7gg/mana I,72455.

Unite dtates Patent ance Patented Dec.. 4, i962 3,ii66,9ti7 HIRING SEATTRACK Thomas H. Latimer, Birmingham, and Raymond C. Posh, Garden City,Mich., assignors to American Metal Products Company, Detroit, Mich., acorporation of Michigan Filed Mar. li, 1959, Ser. No. 798,735 S Claims.(Ci. 24d- 42%) This invention relates to seat tracks for supportingseats and more particularly to a power-operated tilting seat rack forsupporting the front seat of an automobile.

One common type of power-operated seat track employs a mechanism on oneside thereof for moving the seat in the desired manner with relativelylarge torque tubes interconnecting the one side of the seat with theother side so that both sides are operated by the same mechanism. Thetorque tubes must be relatively large in diameter to operativelyinterconnect the sides of the seat track in this manner and consequentlyrequire a relatively large space to be maintained between the top of theraised drive shaft tunnel and the bottom of the seat. This space is animportant factor in determining the over-all height of the seat and asignificant reduction in the height of the seat can be made to providethe low seats required in modern-day automobiles by reducing the spacebetween the top of the tunnel and the bottom of the seat.

Therefore, it is one object of the invention to provide a seat trackthat reduces the necessary space between the top of the drive shafttunnel and the bottom of the seat to enable the over-all height of theseat to be reduced.

It is another object of the invention to provide a seat trackconstruction having two separate side track assemblies with independentmechanisms thereon for moving the side track assemblies in the desiredmanner, the corresponding mechanisms on each side track assembly beingsimultaneously actuated by a motor disposed therebetween.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a seat trackconstruction having spaced Side track as'ernblies with separate leadscrew mechanisms incorporated in each for actuating each of the sidetrack assemblies in the desired manner.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide apower-operated seat track construction which is relatively simple,economical of manufacture and rugged in construction.

Other objects and features of novelty of the invention will bespecifically pointed out or otherwise become apparent when referring,for a better understanding of the invention, to the followingdescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE l is a broken plan view of a tilting seat track embodyingfeatures ofthe invention;

FIG. 2 is a reduced sectional view of the structure illustrated in FIG.l, taken aong the line 2-2 thereof;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the structure illustrated inFIG. 2, taken alcng the line 3-3 thereof;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the structure illuetraed in FIG. 3, takenalong the line 4 4 thereof;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 3, takenalong the line 5-5 thereof;

FIG. 6 is a sectional View of the structure i` lustrated in FIG. 3,taken along the line 6 6 thereof;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 3, takenalong the line '7-7 thereof;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged end view of the motor support element of thetilting seat track of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is an elevational view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 8;and

FIG. l0 is a sectional View similar to that of FIG. 7 illustrating amodification of the invention.

Referring to FIGS. l-3, a tilting seat track embodying features of thepresent invention is comprised of two parallel spaced-apart side trackassemblies lil and l2 which are fixed to a door panel 14 Which issuitably dished out or contoured as at it and 1.8 to enable the sidetrack assemblies to be supported at an angle relative to the door panel.

Referring also to FIGS. 4-6, each of 'the side track assemblies lil andi2 are comprised of an elongated base member having a raisedchannel-shaped central portion with flanges 26 extending laterallyoutwardly from each of the legs and vertically extending portions Zitand 3@ projecting from the edges of the anges Z6 at longitudinallyspaced points, the vertical portions 2d being relatively low in heightand disposed at the forward or left end of the side track assemblies asviewed in FIG. 3 and the portions 3d being greater in height anddisposed intermediate the ends of the base member 22. The franges 26 arebent as at 32 to correspond with the dished-out portion le of the floorpanel i4 so that the flanges Zd can be secured to the floor penel bybolts 34 and 36 in a manner to enable web 38 of the channel-shapedportion 24 of the base member 22 to extend in one continuous straightline at 'the aforementioncd angle to the door panel I4.

Three longtiudinally spaced upwardly presenting channel-shaped membersdit, d2 and with flanges 46 extending laterally from the ends of thelegs thereof have the webs thereof fixed to the web 38 of thechannelshaped portion 2d in any suitable manner such as by rivets d3,Sil and 52, respectively. Oi' course, if desired, the separatechannel-shaped members ii-1, 42 and 44 could also be made as onecontinuous member equally as well.

A slide member 514 is slidably mounted on the ianges of the upwardlypresenting channel-shaped members 4:13, and 4d by side portions 56 whichhook over the iianges i6 and are slidably supported on preformed blocksof low friction material 53 hired to each of the anges A seat supportingframe assembly dit is mounted on each of the slide members 5d and iscomprised of a supporting bracket dit having a vertical portion 64 andan inwardly extending generally horizontal portion 6h mounted on theslide member S4 by rivets 67 or the like. An elongated channel-shapedseat supporting arm 63 has outer leg 7i) thereof pivotally connected tothe vertical portion 6ft of the supporting bracket 62 by a shoulderedrivet 72 in a manner to enable the arm 63 to freely pivot on thesupporting bracket d2.

The rear end of the arm 68 is pivotally supported by two links 7d and 76which are pivotally connected to the legs of the arm 63 by shoulderrivets 7d and Sil. The lower ends of the links 74 and 76 areinterconnected by a sleeve n?. which is pivotally supported o-n cach ofthe links by shouldered screws 8d and 86, respectively, which threadablyengage opposite sides of the sleeve 32 to pivotally connect it to thelinks '741 and '76.

The sleeve threadably engages the relatively coarse thread of the leadscrew dd projecting from a gear reduction housing @il mounted on theslide member 54 by rivets S9, or the like, so that the sleeve 82 acts asa running nut. rThe lower end 92 of the lead screw 8S extends within thehousing 9d and is journaled in a cupshaped bearing 9d therein and iskeyed to a helical gear 96 which, in turn, is driven by a worm gear 98as will be described hereinafter. With this construction, it will bereadily apparent that rotation of the lead screw 8S will raise or lov/erthe sleeve 32. which, in turn, raises or lowers the rear end (the rightside as viewed in FIG.

QJ 3) of the arm 63 so that it pivots on the supporting bracket 62,suitable stops 1% and 192 lbeing provided at the lower and upper ends ofthe lead screw, respectively, to limit the travel of the sleeve SZ onthe lead screw.

To slide the seat supporting frame assembly 6@ forward and back, rightand left, as viewed in FIG. 3, the left end of a lead screw 1114 ispivotally connected to the seat supporting frame assembly 69, as will bedescribed, with the free end thereof passing through and threadablyengaging a sleeve 1116 which is pivo-tally connected between flanges1113 and 110 projecting from the vertically extending portions Stil ofthe base member' 22 by shouldered screws 112 and 114iA as most clearlyillustrated in FIG. 6. With this construction, the sleeve 166 ispivotally lixed, and therefore rotation of the lead screw 164 will drivethe seat support frame assembly 6d in a direction corresponding to thedirection o-f rotation of the lead screw.

Referring particularly to FiGS. l and 3, the left or forward end of thelead screw 194 extends within a gear reduction housing 116 which, inturn, is fixed to a plate 113 having legs 126 and extending forwardlytherefrom. The legs 121i and 12?. are pivotally connected by a pin 1713to legs and 126, respectively, of an angle supporting bracket 12S havinga generally channel-shaped cross section, the horizontal portion of theweb of the supporting bracket being fixed to thc slide member 521 by anysuitable means, such as by rivets 13h or the like. With thisconstruction, it is apparent that the lead screw 1nd is free to pivotabout the pin 123 and the sleeve 1% is free to pivot about the screws112 and 11d to prevent any binding between the lead screw and sleevewhile transmitting the force necessary to slide each of the seat supportframe assemblies 613 on the low friction blocks 53 fixed to 4the sidetrack assemblies 1@ and 12.

As most clearly illustrated in FIG. 4, the gear reduction housing 116 issecured to the plate by a plurality of bolts 132 and the end of the leadscrew 194i extending within the housing is keyed to a helical gear 134iby a key 136 or the like. The helical gear 134 is, in turn, rotated by aworm gear 138 which is driven' by a shaft 14@ extending through andjournaled in the housing 11 by a bushing 142. The shaft 14? is coupledto an output shaft 144 of a suitable motor 146 by a connector 143, themotor 146 being xed to and mounted on the inward end of the horizontalportion 66 of the supporting bracket 62 as will be described.

As most clearly illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9, the horizontal portion 66of the supporting bracket 62 has reinforcing flanges 151i and 152 alongthe sides thereof with the iiange 152 being inclined downwardly toenable the motor 146 to be supported at a lower height. A generallyC-shaped mounting bracket 154 is formed on the end of the horizontalportion 66 and has holes 156 therein to enable the motor 146 to befastened directly to the mounting bracket 154 by bolts 15S or the like.

As most clearly illustrated in FIG. 2, a flexible drive shaft 160extends outwardly from the other end of the motor 146 and is drivinglyconnected to the worm gear of the gear reduction housing 116 mounted onthe other side track assembly 12. With this construction, the same motor146 can be used to drive the lead screws 164 of each of the side trackassemblies and 12. to simultaneously slide each of the side trackassemblies forward or back in response to the direction of rotation ofthe motor 146.

Referring particularly to FIGS. l `and 2, a second motor 162 issimilarly mounted `on the mounting bracket 154 of the supporting bracket62 of the side track assembly 12 for raising and lowering the seatsupporting arms 68 of each of the side track assemblies. This isaccomplished by a liexible drive shaft 164 which extends from one sideof the motor 162 and is connected to the worm gear 9d in the gearreduction housing 9@ as illustrated in FlG. 7, and by a flexible driveshaft 166 extending from the other end of the motor 162 and connected tothe worm gear of the gear reduction housing mounted on the side trackassembly 10. With this construction, rotation of the motor 162 willrotate the lead screws 33 on each of the side track assemblies to raiseand lower' the rear end o-f the side supporting arm 68, depending on thedirection of rotation which in turn raise or lower the rear portion ofthe automotive vehicle seat supported on the arms 68.

By employing the iiexible drive shafts for transmitting the drivingforce of the motors to the lead screws that simultaneously operate eachside track assembly, the space between the tunnel 1%@ (F16. 2) and thebottom of the seat to be supported in the side track assemblies isreduced to enable the overall height of the seat to be lowered. Further,since the side track assemblies 10 and 1'2. each have their ownindependent operating mechanism, they need not be operativelyinterconnected in any way, such as by the prior art torque tubes, thatwould increase the clearance required between the seat aud the tunnel 1SReferring to FIG. 1G, a modification of the present invention isillustrated wherein the housing 90 is spaced slightly above the slidemember 54 and is pivotally connected thereto in a suitable manner, suchas by ears 201.5, projecting downwardly from the bottom of the housingand pivotally connected to angle-shaped members 202 projecting upwardlyfrom the slide member by shouldered rivets 204. By pivotally mountingthe housing 9d in this ranner, the floating links "le and 76 can beeliminated, and tl e legs of the arm 63 can be pivotally connecteddirectly to the sleeve S2 by the shouldered screws S4 and 36 asillustrated. The arm 63 can therefore be pivoted upwardly in the samemanner, as previously described, with a more simplified construction.

Vhile it will be apparent that the preferred embodi- `ne nts of theinvention herein described are well calculated to fulfill the objectsand advantages Iirst above stated, it will be appreciated that theinvention is susceptible to variation, modification and change withoutdeparting from the fair meaning and proper scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A seat track having a pair of parallel spaced-apart side trackassemblies, each of said side track assemblies comprising an elongatedbase member with a raised central portion having a downwardly presentingchannelshaped cross section, an upwardly presenting channelshaped memberhaving the web thereof xed to the web of said central portion of thebase member, an elongated slide member slidably mounted on the legs ofsaid upwardly presenting channel-shaped member, a mounting brackethaving a vertical portion and a generally horizontal portion fixed toone end of said slide member with the horizontal portion extendingtoward the other of said side track assemblies, an elongated support armhaving one end thereof pivotally connected to said vertical portion ofthe mounting bracket and extending above said slide member, a first leadscrew mechanism operatively connected between said slide member and saidbase member so that rotation of the lead screw thereof slides said slidemember relative to said base member, a second lead screw mechanismoperatively connected between the other end of said slide member and thepivoting end of said supporting arm so that rotation of the lead screwthereof pivots the supporting arm, a motor mounted on the horizontalportion of the mounting bracket on each of said side track assemblies,means for connecting the end of one of said motors to said rst leadscrew mechanism on the same side track assembly to which the mountingbracket that supports said one motor is fixed, a exible drive shaft forconnecting the other end of said one motor to the rst lead screwmechanism on the opposite side track assembly, land iiexible driveshafts for con.-

necting each end of the other said motors to each of said second leadscrew mechanisms.

2. The subject matter as claimed in claim 1 wherein each of said firstlead screw mechanisms comprises an upright supporting bracket mounted onsaid one end of said slide member, a gear reduction unit pivotallymounted on said supporting bracket, a lead screw rotatably driven bysaid gear reduction unit and extending therefrom between said supportingarm and slide member, a. running nut threadably engaging said leadscrew, and iianges extending upwardly from said base member with theupper ends thereof pivotally connected to opposite sides of said runningnut, and wherein said means connects the one end of said one motor toone of said gear reduction units and said liexible drive shaft connectsthe other end of said one motor to the other of said gear reductionunits whereby the operation of said one motor simultaneously rotateseach of the lead screws to simultaneously slide each of the slidemembers relative to said base member.

3. The subject matter as claimed in claim l wherein each of said secondlead screw mechanisms comprises a gear reduction unit mounted on theother end of said slide member, a lead screw extending upwardly fromsaid gear reduction unit and rotatably driven thereby, a running nutthreadably engaging said lead screw, and a pair of linkages having thelower ends thereof pivotally connected to opposite sides of said runningnut with the upper ends thereof pivotally connected to the pivoting endof said support arm, and wherein said liexible drive shafts connect theends of said other motor to said gear reduction units on each of saidside track assemblies whereby operation of said other motorsimultaneously rotates each of the lead Screws to simultaneously pivoteach of the supporting arms.

4. The subject matter as claimed in claim 1 wherein each of said secondlead screw mechanisms comprises a gear reduction unit pivotally mountedon the other end of said slide member, a lead screw extending upwardlyfrom said gear reduction unit and rotatably driven thereby, a runningnut threadably engaging said lead screw, and means for pivotallyconnecting the pivoting end of said support arm to said running nut, andwherein said ilexible drive shafts connect the ends of said other motorto said gear reduction units on each of said side track assemblieswhereby operation of said motor simultaneously rotates each of the leadscrews to simultaneously pivot each of the supporting arms.

5. A seat track comprising a pair of side track assemblies, each sidetrack assembly including a seat supporting assembly slidably mountedthereon, each seat supporting assembly including a seat supporting armpivotally mounted thereon, a lead screw mechanism operatively connectedbetween each of said seat supporting assemblies and side trackassemblies so that rotation of the lead screws thereof slides the seatsupporting assembles relative to the side track assemblies, a verticallydisposed lead screw mechanism operatively connected between each of saidseat supporting assemblies and the pivoting end of each of saidsupporting arms so that rotation of the lead screws thereof pivots thesupporting arms, a pair of motors, means for drivingly connecting one ofsaid motors to each of the inst-mentioned lead screw mechanisms so thatrotation of said one motor rotates the lead screws thereof tosimultaneously slide the seat supporting assemblies relative to the sidetrack assemblies, a gear reduction unit on each said secondmentionedlead screw mechanism fixed to a seat supporting assembly below thepivoting end of a supporting arm, said vertically disposed lead screwextending upwardly from said gear reduction unit and rotatably driventhereby, a running nut threadably engaging said vertically disposed leadscrew, a pair of linkages having the lower ends thereof pivotallyconnected to opposite sides of said running nut and the upper endsthereof pivotally connected to the pivoting end of the supporting arm,and means .drivingly connecting said other motor to each of said gearreduction units so that the operation of said other motor rotates thelead screws to simultaneously pivot the supporting arms.

References in the tile of this patent UNlTED STAYES PATENTS 2,809,688Brundage Oct. 15, 1957 2,839,124 Desmond .lune 17, 1958 2,930,428 DeRose Mar. 29, 1960

